Customs from the USA: MfG Austria demands cool head and solutions!

Customs from the USA: MfG Austria demands cool head and solutions!

Oberösterreich, Österreich - The announcement of new US tariffs causes excitement in the economy. The Chamber of Commerce reacts alarmist after US President Donald Trump has announced that it increases tariffs to certain products. In this context, LAbg. Joachim Aigner, federal party chairman of MfG-Austria, commented critically about the reaction of the economy and the associated fears.

Aigner called for the public discussion with a cool head and without panic. He emphasized that the USA imports more than exporting and therefore rely on foreign products. This could cause the US government to lower the tariffs, otherwise American consumers would have to pay higher prices. According to Aigner, the Upper Austrian market is of great importance, but he criticized the fear campaign of the ÖVP.

criticism of the political reaction

Aigner accused the ÖVP of producing crises to present itself as a salvation. In view of the current situation, Aigner also sees the possibility that domestic companies could move their production to the USA. However, he made it clear that this is not only due to the tariffs, but also on EU regulations and high non-wage costs.

The Austrian politician appealed to politics and business not to panic, but to seek long -term solutions. He warned of the negative effects of protectionism that could be problematic not only for the EU but also for the USA.

The global context of tariffs

tariffs are closely linked to globalization and free trade. Customs have been gradually reduced worldwide since the 1950s. The theory states that prosperity is increasing when trading restrictions are reduced. However, Trump has reinforced the tariffs, which can be seen as part of a trend towards protectionism, which has gained driving since the financial crisis in 2008/2009. Jürgen Matthes from the Institute of German Economy points out that this return to higher tariffs was also taken over step by step by other countries, especially emerging countries.

The world trade organization (WTO) was founded in 1994 to promote global free trade and monitors the tariffs, but its members can only increase tariffs if national security interests are affected. In the past, Zölle protected many countries during their industrialization phase. This instrumental role of tariffs is used today to promote certain industries, such as the US solar industry under the Trump administration.

The challenges in retail, such as the complexity of the supply chains, lead to the fact that “reshoring” of industries is not successful in every industry. In addition, the risk of trade wars can hardly be underestimated by increasing tariffs, which could have negative effects for all states involved.

Overall, it remains to be seen how the situation develops and what long-term consequences the current tariff debate will have for international trade. At the moment it is above all political reactions, as expressed by Aigner who shape the discussion about tariffs and their effects on the markets. ots.at , Deutschlandfunk.de .